Exercising device



Oct. 6, 1931. H. E` MGCOY EXERCISING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Feb. 21, 195o 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 H. E. MCCOY EXERCISING DEVICE Filed Feb. 21, 1930 NN MN.

07 NSW INVENTQR Oct. 6, 1931.

Patented Get. 1931 rice HARRY E. MCCQY, F PTTSBURG-I, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TG SPECIALTIES MANU- FACTURING COMPANY, 0F ETTSBURG-l, PENNSYLVNA, A CORPORATION OF DELA.-

WARE f :EXERGISJNG4 DEVICE Application filed February 21, 1930.

This invention Vis for an exercising device and vmore particularly a device of this kind wherein stimulation is ed'ected by means of a vibrating movement.

Various exercising devices have been developed wherein a strap is vibrated by means ofan electric motor. In the use of such devices the exercise or stimulation is entirely of a passive nature inasmuch as no effort is required on the part `of the user of the machine at all. It has been shown that exercise which requires active work is the most beneficial, particularly where the exercise is taken for the purpose of building up muscles and for reducing purposes. At the same time abrasion such as that provided by electrically driven straps has a very stimulating effect.

According to the present invention there is provided an exercising device wherein active f effort is required on the part of the operator,

and which results in the application of stimulating vibration to the body of the operator.

The invention may be readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings 7 which illustrate a present preferred embodiment of my invention and in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of an exercising machine embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof; Figure 8 is a longitudinal vertical section in substantially the plane of line 111-111 of Fig. Q, the section being on a larger scale;

and

Figure 4 is a detail perspective view of a ""5 stidable block constituting` part of the apparatus.

In the drawings, 2 designates a stand comprising a tubular post 3 and a brace 4, the brace 4 having afoot 5 at the bottom thereof l in which is a slot 6. The head of a screw eye secured to the floor projects through the slot G, and a cross pin 7serves to hold the foot portion 5 from lifting away from the floor,

as will be clearly evident from an inspection 't of Figs. 1 and 2. rlhe cross pin 7 is preferably removable to permit the machine to be released from position and put away. At the bottom of the post 3 is a cross piece 8 which is channel shaped .in cross-section and which J preferably carries pad or cushion 9 at each Serial No. 430,230.

end thereof. For securing the cross piece 8 to the bottom of the post 3 a transverse pin 10 is passed through the post 3 adjacent its lower end. This pin 10 has a transverse opening therein. The bolt 11 passing` up through the channel S has its inner end screwed to the pin 10. This provides a very simple and efcient way of connecting the channel to the bottom of the tubular post 3. The bottom of the post 3 is cut off at an angle so that the post has a rearward inclination.

Passing through the post 3 nea-r its upper end is a second pin 12 similar to the pin 10. Screwed into the pin 12 from the top of the post is a. bolt 13 having a winged head. The bolt 13 passes through the plate portion 14 of a bracket member 15, which bracket sits on the top of the postand which may pivot about the thumb bolt 13.

The bracket member 15 has spaced apart upright ears or lugs 16 thereon. A slide bar 17 having a widened inner end portion 18 is pivotally mounted or hinged on the bracket 15 by means of a bolt or pin 19 passing through th-e ears 16 and through correspondingly positioned ears or lugs 2O on the portion 18. By reason of this hinged mounting the slide bar can swing from the horizontal position shown in Fig. 1 down to a substantially vertical position as .indicated by the curved arrows in Fig. 1.

Mounted for reciprocable movement along the slide bar 17 is a slide block Q1, as shown in Fig. 4, this block having an opening 22 in which the bar 17 has a sliding fit. VThe slide block 21 preferably has a lug 23 at each side thereof and a third lug 24 on the underside thereof. Connected to each ofthe lugs 23 is a tension spring 25, the opposite ends of the tension springs 25, being anchored to the widened portion of the slide har at 26. A third tension spring 27 has rits forward end hooked over the lugy 24 and its rearward end anchored to a lug 28. The forward ends of each of the springs 25 and 27 are preferably hooked over the lugs 23 nd 24, respectively7 in such manner that any one of them can be easily unhooled from engagement therewith.

The slide bar 17 is provided along the center thereof with a sinuous groove, slot or channel 29. The groove preferably does not pass entirely through the bar, as shown in Fig. 3, whereby a web of metal is left at the bottom of the groove. This prevents the bar from spreading as it would tend to do if the slot were cut all the way through the thickness of the bar.

The slide block 21, which may be a die casting, carries a king pin 30. Carried on the top of the block for oscillation about the king pin is a cross arm 31. This cross arm has a rearward extension 32 at the center thereof. The rear end of this arm 32 carries a xed pin 33 that projects downwardly into the groove 29. This pin has a roller 34a thereon which is of just sufficient diameter to have a working fit in the groove 29. The roller is preferably made of a hard fibrous material. A boss on the underside of the extension 32, as shown in Fig. 3, prevents the roller from riding up on the pin out of the slot. A nut 35 holds the cross arm 31 in place on the slide.

At 3G there is indicated a strap or belt of the kind generally employed on motor driven Stimulators, and the opposite ends of this belt are connected to the opposite ends of the arm 31. The arm 31 is preferably providedl with several notches therein ateach side of the center and the ends of the strap 36 have eyes 3'( therein permitting the ends of the straps to be hooked into the desired notches in the cross arm. 1

In the use of the device the operator stands in front of the machine with the strap 36 passing around him. I-Ie then leans back, exerting a pull on the strap. This pull slides the block Q1 along the slide bar 17, and as the slide bar moves forwardly the roller 34, trailing in the sinuous slot 29, imparts an oseillating movement to the cross arm 31. The forward movement of the slide bar is limited by the contact of the roller with the end of the groove 29. The operator then relaxes, and the springs 25 and 27 pull the carriage or slide Q1 back, and as the slide moves back the arm 31 is also vibrated.

The device requires an active effort on the part of the operator inasmuch as he must work against the pull of the springs to pull the slide forwardly. At the same time the tissue about which the strap passes is stimulated by the rapid vibration of the strap due to the oscillation of the arm 31. In this way I have combined the advantages of an exereiser requiring active effort on the part of the user with the stimulating vibration effects which are at present obtainable only in the motor driven Stimulators which are commonly used at the present time.

The degree of effort required on the part of the operator can be varied by changing the number of springs that are used. For instance, all three springs may be used, or the central spring 27 may be unhooked from the lug 24, leaving the side springs 25 in operative position, or the two side springs can be unhooked from the lugs 9.3 and only the central spring 27 used. The advantage of this arrangement of three springs is that it gives tension to different combinations and with any arrangement of one, two or three springs the pull on the carriage is always cent 1al or equalized.

Because of the fact that the bar is hinged about the cross pin 19, the straps can be engaged about the body of the operator at different heights, and when the machine is not in use, the bar 17 can be swung down against the post 3 where it is out of the way.

There it is not desirable to use a stand, the plate portion 14 of the bracket 15 can be secured to a wall, or to any other suit-able anchoring means. The stand itself provides a stri'icture and firm anchorage for the device, but one which can be cheaply built and conveniently handled.

It will of course be understood that while I have shown a looped belt 36, other means might be substituted, such as hand grips or the like, for securing different types of stimulation and exercise.

The device is of extremely simple construction and can be cheaply manufactured. At the same time it combines the two valuable features of artificial stimulation by vibration and exercise by active effort on the part of the user.

IVhile I have shown a present preferred embodiment of my idea, it will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the construction of the device within the contemplation of my invention and under the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In an exercising device, a relatively fixed member, a relatively movable member reciprocable along the fixed member, yieldable means for biasing said member to an initial position, and means for imparting an oscillatory movement to the movable member when it is reciprocated with respect to the fixed one.

2. In an exercising device, a relatively fixed member, a relatively movable member reciprocable along the fixed member, yieldable means for biasing said member to an initial position, and cooperating means on the two members for imparting an oscillatory movement to the movable one as it is reciprocated with respect to the fixed one.

3. In an exercising device, a. relatively fixed member, a relatively movable member reciprocable along the fixed member, cooperating means on the two members for imparting an oscillatory movement to the movable one as it is reciprocated with respect to the fixed one, and a spring for moving the movable member in one direction and resisting its movement in the opposite direction.

4. In an exercising device, a relatively lixed member, a relatively movable member slidable therealong and arranged to be moved in one direction by an operator using the device, means for yieldably resisting the movement of the movable member by the operator and for returning it to original position, and means for imparting a vibratory motion to the movable member when itis moved along the relatively fixed member.

5. In an exercising device, a relatively fixed guide member, a bloclr slidable along the guide member, a spring for yielda-bly resisting movement of the block along the guide member, a cross arm on the block, and cooperating means on the cross arm and guide member for oscillating the latter when it is reciprocated along the guide member.

6. In a mechanical exercising device, a relatively xed guide bar having a sinuous channel therein, a block reciprocable along the guide bar, a cross arm pivotally mounted cn the block, Said cross arm having an extension thereon, means on the extension engaging the sinuous channel of the guide member for imparting an oscillatory movement to the cross arm upon reciprocation of the block along the guide member and means for biasing said block to an initial position on said bar.

7. In a device of the class described, a relatively lixed guide member having a sinuous groove therein, a block slidable along the guide member, springs for yieldably resisting movement of the block along the guide member in one direction, a cross arm pivotally supported on the bloc-l1, said Cross arm having an extension thereon which is parallel with the guide member, and a roller on the extension fitted into the sinuous groove of the guide bar for oscillating the cross arm upon movement of the block along the guide bar.

8. In a device of the class described, a relatively fixed guide member, a relatively movable block slidable along the guide member, a vibrating element mounted on the block, adjustable spring means for biasing the movement of said block, and means for vibrating the element upon the reciprocation of the block along the guide member.

9. In a device of the class described, a relatively fixed guide member, a relatively movable block slidable along the guide member, a vibrating element mounted on the block, cooperating means on the guide member and ibrating member for vibrating the latter when the block is reciprocated along the guide member, and means for yieldably resisting movement of the block in one direction along the guide member.

10. In a device of the class described, a plate member, a guide member pivotally connected with the plate member to swing in a vertical arc, a block slidable along the guide member, a cross bar on the block, cooperating means on the cross bar and guide member for oscillating the cross bar upon reciprocation of the block along the guide member, and means for yieldably resisting movement of the block in one direction along the guide member.

ll. In a device of the class described, a plate member pivotally supported for movement in a horizontal plane, a guide member pivotally connected with the plate member for movement in a vertical arc, a reciprocable member movable back and forth along the guide member, a cross arm on the reciprocable member, and means for vibrating the cross arm upon movement of the reciprocable member back and forth along the guide member, the pivotal mounting for the plate and the pivotal connection between the plate and the guide member permitting the guide member to adjust itself to a pull exerted upon the cross arm.

12. In a mechanical exercising device, a vertical post having a cross bar at the bottom thereof and a plate pivotally carried at the top thereof, an inclined bracing member secured to the post and having a foot at the bottom thereof, a guide member carried on the plate, a reciprocable member movable back and forth along the guide member toward and away from the post, a spring for resisting movement of the reciprocable member in a direction away from the post, and a cross arm on the reciprocable member by means of which the reciprocable member may be pulled along the guide member against the tension of the spring.

13. In a mechanical exercising device, a guide member, means for anchoring the Ouide member in a relatively fixed position, a lblock reciprocable along the guide member, a. cross arm on the block by means of which the block may be moved in one direction along the` guide member, a tension spring at each side of the guide member detachably connected with the block, and another spring under the guide member at the center thereof detachably connected to a central point of the block.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

HARRY E. MCCOY. 

